Evaluation of Operation Strongbox

Report: 8
Date: 10 April 2001
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report provides a summary of the evaluation of Operation Strongbox following its application at Lambeth, Hackney, Camden and Islington. The report notes the achievements and developments that have been delivered through this approach to improving performance and tackling volume crime.

A. Recommendation

That committee members note the contents of this report.

B. Supporting information

1. The MPS devised and implemented Operation Strongbox to tackle volume crime on high crime boroughs. The approach brings together a range of specialist skills and focuses their efforts, with those of the borough teams, at identified crime problems. The operation aims to develop a legacy of enhanced systems, processes and skills on the borough, which increase the capability to tackle volume crime, reduce crime levels and improve detections. The Strongbox team comprises 30 specialist staff. In addition, Strongbox involves the active participation of borough staff before, during and after the operation.

2. The findings of an evaluation of Operation Strongbox in its first three applications are attached (Appendix 1).

3. Strongbox has delivered successes against the specific objectives set for each of the operations. Each implementation has been used as a learning exercise to develop and refine the approach. The initial exercise at Lambeth delivered on hotspot problems in the town centre, and highlighted a range of lessons for the future. These lessons were put into practice in Hackney, and positive results were achieved. Operation Regis, at Camden and Islington, was an opportunity to test cross-borough working, and explore the potential of a wider Strongbox impact. The results obtained demonstrated some success, but proved that a focus on a single borough implementation was a more effective approach. This lesson has been taken into the most recent application of the operation in Westminster – one of the highest crime boroughs in London.

4. The report concludes that the tactics being developed to combat volume crime through Operation Strongbox, the MPS Volume Crime Reduction Strategy, improving forensic capability, and tackling structural and skills improvements on boroughs, are significant and the early signs are they will have a real impact in the long term.

5. While Strongbox has been seen to increase JDs and arrest rates, it has not always had a significant impact on reducing volume crime. The impact of Strongbox has proved difficult to sustain after the additional Strongbox support has left a borough; and there is still some way to go before the 'ideals' of the Strongbox approach become ingrained into everyday policing. The impact of Strongbox on volume crime is summarised in Appendix 2.

6. Strongbox is one strand of the MPS approach to tackling streetcrime. The operation was allocated £2m of the £9m streetcrime fund for the year 2000/2001. The MPS has put in place a monitoring system to capture the costs of activities under the scheme, which has been commended by the Home Office. As members are aware, work is going on in the MPS to improve costing information. An estimate of the costs of Strongbox to date is set out in Appendix 3.

7. The implementation of Operation Strongbox has been a development experience for the MPS. The operation has been well supported by the community and has improved morale at borough level. Staff have been particularly supportive of the 'joined-up' approach of working with TP and SO resources. Much has been learned, and many of the recommendations of the evaluation are already being acted on. Strongbox is one of the elements of the MPS approach to tackling volume crime and a further £1.4m has been included in the 2000/02 budget to continue the operation. The refinement of the approach is ongoing, and the MPS does not underestimate the complexity of the task.

C. Financial implications

There are no financial implications arising from the content of this report.

D. Contact details

The author of this report is Chief Supt Leslie King, MPS Performance Review Unit and Cath Kitching, MPS Corporate Performance.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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